My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 307

The silence stung my eardrums, so I decided to speak up:

"...You wouldn't refuse it yourself, even if it's not within the scope of club activities."

“Well…”

He turned his face away and looked towards the western sky.

The trailing clouds began to turn red.

Hayama kept his lips tightly pressed together, as if deep in thought. When he turned his head back, his cheeks, bathed in the setting sun, were surprisingly devoid of any warmth.

"...I'm not as good as you think."

He stared at me silently with cold eyes and said fiercely.

I was speechless.

Hayama's voice was flat, yet it held a harsh edge. I vaguely remembered hearing a similar voice one summer night. Did he wear the same expression in the darkness then?

I couldn't think of a response, and Hayama said nothing more.

Aside from eye contact, we had no other interaction at that moment. Everything seemed frozen in time, with only the incessant noise of club activities reminding us that time was still flowing.

Amidst the noise, one voice stood out.

"Hayato—let's begin—"

"I'll be right there."

Hayama only snapped out of his daze when he heard the Ministry of Revenue call him. He turned to answer him, then waved goodbye to me and walked back to the court.

"I'm leaving now..."

"...Um, sorry to have taken up your time."

Without looking back, I straddled the bicycle, and my legs, which were pedaling, became tense without me even realizing it.

A sense of aversion to seeking the truth, and an unnatural feeling of having lost something, lingered deep within me, making me feel extremely bad.

I can't get over Hayama's attitude.

Do I have some misunderstanding about this person?

I think he's a good person, but I also understand that he's not as innocent as he seems. To maintain our friendship, he sometimes shows a ruthless side. This is the Hayama Hayato I know.

However, his smile just now was somewhat different. His gentle and friendly smile seemed impeccable at first glance, but it also made him seem unpredictable, as if carrying a hint of coldness.

I feel like I've seen a similar smile somewhere before.

Lost in thought, I arrived at the Civic Center by bicycle. As I parked and prepared to go inside, I saw Isshiki emerge from the convenience store across the street. Her head was down, and her steps were unusually slow.

"One color".

She looked up when she heard the voice, and when she saw it was me, she picked up the plastic bag with both hands, sighed softly, and then smiled at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, have you been waiting here for a long time, senior?"

"I'm not just waiting for you, I'm also going to find you."

"Shouldn't you say 'No, I just arrived too' in a situation like this...?"

Isshiki looked displeased, but when she saw my silently outstretched hand, she suddenly smiled. As she smiled, she seemed to secretly sigh.

"...No need, the things I have today aren't heavy."

"Yeah?"

"right."

She gave a brief answer, and I looked at the bag. There wasn't much inside, but her hands seemed to be struggling.

"We're already late, let's go in quickly."

I followed Isshiki into the Civic Center.

Viewed from behind, Isshiki's shoulders drooped slightly more than usual, and her back leaned forward a little.

It seems her work motivation is declining... I originally thought she was a very bold girl, but I didn't expect her to be so fragile inside.

There was no way around it; she was facing Christmas activities and internal student council problems, like a candle burning at both ends, which made her feel weary. For a first-year high school girl, this situation was indeed quite tricky.

I also bear some responsibility for her being driven to this point. Although there's not much I can do, I will still try my best to provide assistance within the limits of what I can.

That being said, all I can do to help now is carry the bags.

× × ×

The more time you spend, the better the results. Is that right or wrong?

For those engaged in creative endeavors, this may be an eternal question.

People always think, "It's okay," "No problem," "I can continue," and as a result, their hard work is unknowingly ruined. The more time people have, the more complacent, lazy, and careless they become. This isn't composure; it's carelessness. (Note 27: Adapted from a line by Shishio Makoto in "The Swordsman's Adventures")

While everyone thought "there's still hope, there's still hope," the situation had already deteriorated to a very pessimistic degree.

Based on a suggestion from the Seaside Comprehensive High School a few days ago, we are going to meet with students from a nearby primary school today. The specific details of the activity are still undecided; only the scale is constantly expanding like an inflating balloon.

Let's design the event together! Everyone is welcome to participate and speak up!

Yu Sheng perked up and greeted the elementary school students present.

The elementary school students answered in unison, "Please give me your guidance."

It was clearly too much to ask all the students to attend; the scene felt like an elementary school student council meeting. Those present today were probably pre-selected by the school.

There were approximately ten participants.

I suddenly realized that one of the girls looked quite familiar.

The girl was more mature than the children around her, so I noticed her immediately. She had a cascade of jet-black hair and exuded a cold aura.

Rumi Tsurumi—she sat there by herself, just like when she went on a summer camping trip.

I stared at her for a while, and she noticed my gaze and looked over, her eyes widening. However, she quickly looked away, focusing on the floor beneath her feet.

Her reaction was so different from that of the other children that I couldn't help but think of what I had done.

Let's go back to summer vacation, to a camping trip for elementary school students in Chiba Village. I ruined Rumi Tsurumi's relationships with others and even made Hayama play the bad cop.

The consequences of that approach are now starkly clear before our eyes.

Whether that was right or wrong, I have no way of knowing. In terms of the outcome, only the person involved can judge whether they have been saved.

"Senior, what's wrong?"

I turned my head and saw Isshiki looking puzzled.

"……nothing."

I gave a brief answer, then looked back at the group of elementary school students studying in the US.

During the camping trip, the other girls in her group appeared to be absent. In other words, no one knows the current state of her interpersonal relationships while studying in the US; any further speculation is merely conjecture. Therefore, I'll leave this question aside for now.

There are still many problems to worry about, the first being how to interact with these primary school students.

Everyone has gathered here, but no one has assigned any tasks.

Should we be the ones to guide the process? Although there were still teachers present, they seemed to intend for us to lead the whole process. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yu Sheng and the others earlier, they handed the scene over to us.

As for Yu Sheng himself, after a brief greeting, he walked over, revealing a hearty smile, and said:

"So, may I trouble you with this next step?"

Just bringing people here and then leaving us to fend for ourselves... Nothing's been decided yet. Even if we hand over the rest of the tasks, we don't know what to do. At most, we can chat with the kids. Besides, we can't keep them too late, so the actual usable time is quite limited. So, to be frank, gathering the elementary school students here today won't get us anywhere.

"Um……"

Isshiki also seemed very troubled by the request for the jade rope.

Besides, since they're already here, we can't just send them back with a simple "we don't need them anymore." I don't know what Yusheng said during the negotiations, but I feel a bit guilty for assigning this task to him. Not completely rejecting his opinion during the brainstorming phase was a huge mistake.

A dispute here would not only damage the reputation of the two high schools and elementary schools involved, but also leave a bad impression on the organizations supporting the event. The ship has already struck the reef; further conflict would only hasten its sinking.

You can take care of one side, but you can't take care of the other... This isn't a solution, that isn't a solution either, witches are everywhere! Witches! (Note 28 is from the lyrics of the ending theme song of the anime "Witch's Quest".)

Even we ourselves were clueless, let alone the elementary school students. They were brought to this place, but all they could do was look at each other, no one knowing what to do.

Among those children, one person stood out.

Needless to say, this person is Tsurumi Rumi.

Everyone was whispering among themselves, but she remained out of place.

Then they started whispering to each other, glancing in their direction every now and then.

"Should we go and ask what we're supposed to do?"

"Who's going?"

"Let's decide with rock-paper-scissors."

"Okay, how many rounds do you want to lose?"

"Wait a minute, what's the password?"

They forgot they were whispering and started talking louder and louder, so loud that we could hear them too.

There really is a culture in the world where everything is decided by rock-paper-scissors, much like a dueling brain that solves everything through a duel. Then, when a lone wolf like me wins, everyone immediately says, "Okay, the winner gets to do it!" If that's the case, why not just vote from the start? I'd be more willing to do it that way... I was so pathetic in elementary school.

Leaving my own situation aside for now, I continued to observe how the elementary school students' rock-paper-scissors game would unfold, and then, something unexpected happened.

“…I’ll go.”

Rumi, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, glanced at them and spoke bluntly. The other elementary school students, perhaps somewhat intimidated by Rumi's nonchalant demeanor, only uttered soft whispers as they watched her leave her seat.

“Ah, um…”

"Thanks……"

Liu Mei didn't respond much, but walked directly up to us and spoke to the vice president standing beside her. She clearly didn't want to talk to me.

"What do we need to do?"

Despite being a primary school student in the US, he spoke with remarkable composure, which caused the vice president to panic.

"Um, this..."

He didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he turned to me and asked:

"How to do?"

"You shouldn't be asking me that..."

"Oh right, sorry."

After I said that, he looked at Isshiki, who was standing next to Tamaki. This is a hierarchical organization, so any instructions must first be given to the student council president.

"One color".

Upon hearing the vice president's voice, Isshiki gave a brief nod to Tamaki and immediately jogged back.

"What are we going to do with these elementary school students now?"

She crossed her arms and began to think.

"Hmm... However, we haven't decided anything yet... It might be better to confirm with them first."

I think…

Judging from Yu Sheng and the others' state, we probably won't get any useful information from them now. Since he's entrusted the elementary school students to us, we'll have to figure it out ourselves.

"Anyway, let's think of something that won't affect us but we absolutely have to do. Making decorations or a Christmas tree should be okay, right? How about we go buy the materials we need first?"

"...Okay, let's do it that way."

Yise nodded in agreement and then went to explain to the children, including the one who had returned to America.

For now, this is sufficient, but we must also consider what comes next. We don't even know what we need to do right now, and the problems we have to think about keep piling up. If we don't establish a framework for the activities as soon as possible, this motley crew will just continue to waste time.

I left the elementary school students to Isshiki and the others, and went to discuss it with Tamaki. This was originally Isshiki's job, but there are always disagreements between people, and Isshiki, mindful of Tamaki's seniority, didn't dare to voice his opinion loudly. Therefore, I had to fill in this part.

Yu Sheng was chatting and laughing with his companions when I walked up to him and coughed lightly. He noticed me, turned around, and asked with a hearty smile:

"What's up?"

I'm not good at dealing with people who have a pleasing appearance; a familiar face kept popping into my head. Being at a disadvantage from the start, my speech became stiff.

"If the content isn't decided first, even if you bring everyone here, it won't make any difference..."